Simulated brick construction in conjunction with concrete forming and fabrication of structures is becoming increasingly common in the construction of modern buildings. This is due to the fact that it is quite expensive to use the services of masons in order to build a true laid-up brick or masonry wall. With the scarcity of skilled workers today, the ability to fabricate a true brick or masonry wall is quite problematic. In order to get around these increased costs and problems, many construction companies have gone to the use of simulated brick building panels which are backed by concrete and positioned as required to form a wall or structure which has a simulated brick exterior appearance. A major problem with this type of construction is that the panels are quite difficult to handle and position at the construction site.
Construction of this type of wall has improved recently by the use of brick or object retainers which are fastened directly to the inside surface of the concrete wall form. In this way, as the concrete is poured into the form it flows around the back of the brick which is embedded in the outer surface of the structure. The problem with this type of construction is that many retainers are known to fail and cause the bricks to fall to the bottom of the form cavity during the pouring process. Thus, a large void is left in the finished wall surface or concrete is exposed where the missing brick should be located. This is especially true with many of the different retainers that have been tried in the past and which comprise the prior art in this area of construction. In addition, the panels and retainers which have been used up to now have been quite expensive and difficult to install. In most of these, the bricks must be inserted into recesses within the panel or retainers within the form and therefore must be placed one at a time in order to cover the interior surface of the concrete form prior to pouring the concrete.
A different type of retainer is the liner or mat which is used in the horizontal position. These retainers are usually formed from an elastomeric material and have recesses which closely fit the outside of the objects which are to be retained and position these objects in a pleasing serial pattern. The most common of these is the type which is fabricated for holding brick pavers and is designed to have the appearance of a hand formed brick wall. This type of form and retainer is usually arranged in a horizontal position because it lacks a positive device for securely holding the bricks or objects in position.
The more desirable type of retainer for upright construction has a mechanical structure which is attached to the inside surface of the concrete wall form and securely retains the brick or object in proper position before and during the pouring of the concrete. As will be discussed later in the Information Disclosure Statement, these retainers take many different forms and shapes, but none are of the type which can be mass produced and readily disposed of after use. In addition, there is nothing in the prior art which discloses a type of individual retainer which can be used by the home repairman or do-it-yourselfer in such a way that a professional looking wall can be produced.
The applicant in the present invention has discovered a unique way of providing individual object retainers which interconnect with each other and can be securely fastened to the wall of a concrete form and will be automatically positioned to lay out the objects in a desired pattern. This is especially true with brick pavers, whereby the brackets forming the basis of this invention and the brick pavers can be readily installed and secured within the form ready for the pouring of concrete. The individual brackets provided in the present invention are fabricated from readily available materials, such as ABS (acrylic butyl styrene), talc filled polypropylene, expanded polystyrene, and polyurethane, and can be mass produced by injection molding with the necessary interconnecting tabs and slots allowing the bricks to be arranged in many desired patterns.
In another embodiment, the bracket may be produced as a composite, with the bracket base portion made from the above materials injection molded with an elastomeric material as a gasket and retaining cap portion made from a suitable material such as butyl polyvinyl. The elastomer is bonded to the plastic base material and still provides an exterior configuration similar to the solid bracket embodiment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lightweight, inexpensive, individual, object supporting bracket which can be easily installed and is disposable after use. A further object is to provide a supporting bracket for attachment to the interior surface of a concrete wall form which can be purchased along with an attached desired object, such as a brick paver, and ready for use.